free Archives - Page 2 of 9 - Dr. Marie-Claire Moreau

Oct 25 2017

If you’re suddenly homeschooling, these free downloads can help

In the typical scenario, families decide to homeschool, spend time preparing, and have flexibility in making decisions leading up to the big day.

In other homes, unexpected circumstances can require making quick decisions to provide schooling for children who’ve been displaced, or whose homes or schools have been destroyed.

Families have long chosen homeschooling for reasons of health, travel, unexpected job loss, and a host of other issues. The recent weather emergencies in Texas, Florida and California have added to the list of reasons for suddenly homeschooling, affecting families who’d never considered this method of education before.

A large part of what I do is help families in unplanned homeschooling situations, helping to get them established where they live, and collect the resources they need to jump in as best they can during unsettled situations.

I even wrote a book to explain how sudden and unexpected homeschooling can occur — and be successful – with only 2 short weeks of planning and preparation (often less).

Homeschooling isn’t always a family’s first choice.

Those of us who’ve been homeschooling for many years may tend to forget that many families homeschool in less than ideal situations.

If you’re a family who is homeschooling when you never expected you’d be, I’d like to be helpful as you get ready to bring your children home.

I’ve included some links, below, where you can get 2 of my resources absolutely free. It’s my way of saying “welcome” to home education, and letting you know you are not alone as you stick your toes into uncharted waters.

If there is anything else I can do, don’t hesitate to ask.

Get a free chapter of my book “Suddenly Homeschooling” (instant download on your screen)

Get a free copy of my lesson planning booklet called “Plan Your Own Homeschool Curriculum” (requires coupon code: FREEPLANNER17)

This isn’t just for you. Feel free to share with other friends in need.

To your success,

Dr. Marie-Claire Moreau is a college professor who traded in her tenure to become a homeschool mom 20+ years ago. A homeschooling pioneer and the founder of many groups and organizations, she works to advance home education, and is an outspoken supporter of education reform coast to coast. Her book, Suddenly Homeschooling: A Quick Start Guide to Legally Homeschool in Two Weeks, is industry-acclaimed as it illustrates how homeschooling can rescue children and families from the public school system, and how anyone can begin homeschooling within a limited time-frame, with no teaching background whatsoever. A writer, a homeschool leader, and a women’s life coach, Marie-Claire mentors in a variety of areas that impact health, education and lifestyle. A conference speaker, she has appeared at FPEA, H.E.R.I., Home Education Council of America, The Luminous Mind, Vintage Homeschool Moms, iHomeschool Network, and many other events. Her articles have appeared in and on Holistic Parenting, CONNECT,Homefires, Homemaking Cottage, Kiwi, Circle of Moms, and hundreds of sites and blogs nationwide. Marie-Claire can be reached at contactmarieclaire@gmail.com.

If you’re in Florida, be sure to check out Marie-Claire’s new book especially for families in the Sunshine State:

The Ultimate Guide to Florida Homeschooling

Jun 30 2017

High School Literature: When you want to use whole books

May contain affiliate links

When high schooling our students, it’s important to cram in as much literature as is reasonably possible. Without getting into the rationale, I cannot overstate the value of reading good books.

If you’re searching for products to use, please know that high school lit can be read/taught in pieces or using whole books. Those in the market for a whole book approach will appreciate this list.

Resources for High School Literature

Using whole books

(Each opens a new window)

For purchase:

Carol Kinsey’s Creative Writing Through Literature: Adventures in Non-Fiction

Sharon Watson’s Illuminating Literature: When Worlds Collide

Hewitt Homeschooling’s Literature Courses

Progeny Press Literature Guides

Notgrass History / Literature

Brave Writer’s Literature

Learning Language Arts Through Literature

Essentials in Writing’s Course entitled, “Essentials in Literature”

7 Sisters Literature Guides

Total Language Plus

Memoria Press

Sonlight

The Reader’s Odyssey by Dena M. Luchsinger

Classic Academic Press’s Literature Guides

For Free:

Cummings Study Guides

Spark Notes

Novel Guide

Glencoe’s Literature Guides

Nancy Polette’s Literature Guides

Class Zone

Grade Saver

The Best Notes

Georgia Department of Virtual Learning

Literature Learning Ladders

Shmoop

Cliff Notes

Litcharts

Not responsible for broken or inactive links. Please preview content before assigning to your student.

Looking for more curriculum choices? You might like my BIG LISTS.

Dr. Marie-Claire Moreau is a college professor who traded in her tenure to become a homeschool mom 20+ years ago. A homeschool pioneer and the founder of many groups and organizations, she works to advance home education, and is an outspoken supporter of education reform coast to coast. Her book, Suddenly Homeschooling: A Quick Start Guide to Legally Homeschool in Two Weeks, is industry-acclaimed for illustrating how homeschooling can rescue children and families from the public school system, and how anyone can begin homeschooling within a limited time-frame, with no teaching background whatsoever. A writer, a homeschool leader, and a women’s life coach, Marie-Claire mentors in a variety of areas that impact health, education and lifestyle. A conference speaker, she has appeared at FPEA, H.E.R.I., Home Education Council of America, The Luminous Mind, Vintage Homeschool Moms, iHomeschool Network, and many other events. Her articles have appeared in and on Holistic Parenting, CONNECT,Homefires, Homemaking Cottage, Kiwi, Circle of Moms, and hundreds of sites and blogs nationwide. Marie-Claire can be reached at contactmarieclaire@gmail.com.

May 24 2017

Financial aid tips for college-bound homeschoolers

With tuition increases every year, paying for college can be a real concern. For one-income families with more than one child (i.e., the majority of homeschool families), the fear of not being able to afford a college education can be quite real.

After helping my children into college and working with many other students, I’m convinced there still exists a college experience for any student who wants it, within any budget, and under most common circumstances. More importantly, however, I’ve found there is plenty of college money available to those who want it. Bigger still, a lot of that money is free.

The trick to making the money appear is: a) knowing where to look for it, and b) knowing specifically how to qualify for it.

As someone who has graduated teens who’ve gone on to college debt-free, I’d like to share some of the tips that saved us tons of money. Of course there’s so much more to going college debt-free, but these concepts should get you into the debt-free mindset for when the time comes.

Tips for finding college money and saving a ton!

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Start Early

My first and most valuable tip for finding college money is to start the work early. By early, I mean in 9th or 10th grade, if not sooner. Many organizations and programs start doling out money early, and there are grants and scholarships of all kinds available throughout the high school years. Plus, by starting early, you’ll have the benefit of a huge file of all that information you collect over the years, so you’ll never be caught missing deadlines, lacking requirements, or having trouble finding information again later. Consider it a part-time job that you and your student work on periodically. That’s how we did it, and it worked!

Tell Everyone You know

I always recommend telling everyone you know that you’re looking for college assistance. By putting this on the radar of friends, family members, employers and other acquaintances, you start building a team of support around you and your child. During the time your student is in high school, this team can be keeping their eyes and ears open for opportunities like scholarships and grants, interning programs and awards, and pass on to you a lot of information you’d never get anywhere else. Supporters are usually glad to help you in this way, and often become especially invested in your child as you share periodic updates on what your child is doing in high school, and what his or her goals are after graduation. Don’t dismiss the idea of chatting up the local high schools, either. Guidance counselors and other personnel are sometimes enormously helpful to homeschool families at scholarship time.

It’s Sometimes Okay to Be Broke

This next tip falls into the “for what it’s worth” category. Oftentimes, families try to boost their income during the high school years, with parents taking part-time jobs, and students finding ways to earn money themselves. While this is commendable and can sometimes help the situation, it can also backfire, too. Remember that certain programs target lower income families or those with an inability to pay. Given this formula, students may actually become ineligible for programs if they’ve built a nest egg during high school. While I never discourage anyone from saving for college, it can be useful to consider the cost-benefit of doing such a thing. Putting a student’s grades at risk from working too many hours, for instance, to be later disappointed by an inadequate aid package is highly discouraging. Stressing parents out unnecessarily while causing the family to become ineligible for certain programs is also clearly counter productive.

Overcome Your Desire for Privacy

When it comes time to apply for aid and scholarships, you might as well kiss any desire for privacy good bye. The sheer number of applications you’ll be completing is nothing short of mind boggling, and with those applications comes the complete stripping away of any desire to shield the world from knowing every intimate detail of your personal lives. The desire to find college money requires disclosing anything and everything these organizations want to know. I still highly recommend teaching your teen about identity theft and protecting his or her privacy in every other situation, but on this one, you’ll need to explain (and yourself must learn to accept) this is one exception for which there is no other choice.

Be Sure the Student Transcript Reflects Everything They Want to See

Minimum requirements for college entrance and college money, financial aid programs and scholarship programs, and other sources of college assistance will vary from student to student, from state to state (if you plan on applying for state aid), and from college to college. By knowing specific requirements for these programs early on (go back to my first tip), you can guarantee your student is eligible by making sure any course requirements are met, any GPA requirements are met, any community service or leadership requirements are met, and any other eligibility requirements are met, before your student turns that tassel. It pains me to see students who could’ve qualified for something great, but were ineligible because they forgot take a simple class in an earlier grade. It double-pains me when parents end up costing their students money because they were unwilling to put the time in earlier on to make sure the student remained on track for later assistance. I cannot stress enough the importance of developing a 4-year high school plan to cover all these bases.

If you’ve found these tips helpful, follow me for more information like this in the future (SUBSCRIBE on the home page if you’d like to be notified).

I work with many families to develop college-ready high school plans that gain them access to colleges, and often tens of thousands of dollars of money later on. If this is a service you’d like to explore, contact me for a private consultation.

To your success,

Here’s more you might like:

Finding college scholarships

College Prep High Schooling (Series)

How do homeschoolers get into college?

Nov 11 2016

How to use textbooks for homeschooling

I recently met with a couple who’d just received a large donation of textbooks. Among the things we chatted about were ways they could incorporate some of the books into the learning program they were developing for their kids.

Since textbooks sometimes get a bad rap in the homeschooling world, I wanted you to know there is nothing wrong with using textbooks if they fill a need in your family. The textbook stigma is really about not trying to duplicate public school at home, but leveraging the power of homeschooling instead. There are plenty of ways to use textbooks and still reap the rewards of a customized home education. Let me share some of the advice I gave them, in case these ideas could help you too.

First, a rule about textbooks and homeschooling:

There is no rule about textbooks and homeschooling.

Remember, when homeschooling, you can do whatever you want.

Next, some rules of thumb to help you decide which textbooks to keep, and which to donate somewhere else:

Publication date doesn’t always matter. Unless the subject is something likely to change every couple of years, an older textbook is just as good as a newer one. If you like it, and the information hasn’t changed since it was written, keep it. You might want to watch out for older “modern history” books and world geography books, for instance. You’ll probably also want to steer away from older computer books, too (unless studying the history of computing). It’s really up to you.

Whether the textbook is a “teacher’s copy” or a “student version” doesn’t always matter. Unless it bothers you when teacher’s notes are written in the margins, or answers to the test questions are in plain sight, a teacher’s copy has all the same text as the student edition. You can block out the answers with sticky notes if you like, or by folding (even cutting up) the pages if you want. But, probably, you’ll allow your student to read it for what it’s worth, no matter the format.

Even if you don’t have all the supplements that go with the textbook (like the test bank, some of the exercises, or the answer key) it still might be okay. Again, the value of the textbook is in your eyes only. If it’s something you’d like your children to read, maybe it won’t matter if you’re missing all the pieces that traditional classroom teachers use. You’re not a traditional classroom teacher, so there’s that.

The level or audience for the book doesn’t matter. I don’t care if the book was meant for 6th graders, 11th graders, or college students. If your kids can read it, it’s probably a keeper. Homeschoolers don’t always talk grade levels anyway, so if a textbook can be understood by your unique learners, what the author/publisher intended when they released the book doesn’t matter.

How to use textbooks in your homeschool:

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Now, here are some different ways to use textbooks when homeschooling. Remember, there is no right or wrong here, so feel free to use these ideas or any others you come up with on your own:

Using the Whole Book & Taking a School-Like Approach

If you like a certain textbook, and you think your child could learn from it, too, consider using it to teach an entire class. The class could last for a semester, a year, or any length of time, depending on how long the book is. Think of this like traditional school, where you assign chapters and pages, ask the student take notes or highlight important ideas, assign him questions to answer, and so on. Make up tests, assign papers, or other ways to assess learning. Think of completing the entire textbook (or a significant portion of) as finishing the class. When your student finishes the textbook, assign a grade or credit. Textbooks are perfect for this use, since they often contain enough “material” for an entire class in a single subject.

Hopping In and Out of a Textbook

If the trademark of American home education is freedom, that also includes the freedom to use as much or as little of any curriculum resource as we see fit. The notion that students need to “finish the book” is about as silly as forcing a child to eat everything on a dinner plate when he’s already full. Sure, your students may finish the textbook, if it’s best for the education and also best for the child. But there’s nothing wrong with taking a break from the book, using only selected parts of it, coming back to it over and over for several years, or abandoning it when it stops working. Actually, I highly recommend hopping in and out of textbooks as needed.

Using the Table of Contents & Designing Your Own Class

Probably the most valuable part of any textbook is the table of contents. The table of contents is a ready-made list of related topics, already arranged in some logical order, just waiting for you to follow. If you want to teach a class in something, but feeling intimidated trying to figure out what to teach, following the table of contents from a textbook is the perfect solution. The learning itself doesn’t need to come from the chapters of the book itself (though it could). Instead, what you’ll do is follow the table of contents, but fill in the learning in other ways, like with other books, with taking field trips, by using web resources, with workbooks, and so on. In this case, the table of contents is just providing the framework, but you’re in control of the activities you use to teach the actual lessons.

Using Textbooks for Reference

Finally, textbooks can make excellent reference books. They’re even better together, too, as the impact tends to multiply if you own several textbooks about the same thing. There’s nothing better for looking up the rules of grammar or punctuation than a collection of English textbooks on the shelf. Math books are excellent for seeing how different authors explain the same concepts, especially for struggling students who may need to hear it several different ways. History textbooks, in particular the index at the back of the book, are fantastic tools for learning about people or events.

The bottom line is that there are plenty of ways to control textbook use, instead of allowing them to control you. I hope this has given you a new understanding of how textbooks can be used in freedom, for whatever they’re worth in your unique homeschool program.

To your success,

Dr. Marie-Claire Moreau is a college professor who traded in her tenure to become a homeschool mom 20+ years ago. A homeschooling pioneer and the founder of many groups and organizations, she works to advance home education, and is an outspoken supporter of education reform coast to coast. Her book, Suddenly Homeschooling: A Quick Start Guide to Legally Homeschool in Two Weeks, is industry-acclaimed as it illustrates how homeschooling can rescue children and families from the public school system, and how anyone can begin homeschooling within a limited time-frame, with no teaching background whatsoever. A writer, a homeschool leader, and a women’s life coach, Marie-Claire mentors in a variety of areas that impact health, education and lifestyle. A conference speaker, she has appeared at FPEA, H.E.R.I., Home Education Council of America, The Luminous Mind, Vintage Homeschool Moms, iHomeschool Network, and many other events. Her articles have appeared in and on Holistic Parenting, CONNECT,Homefires, Homemaking Cottage, Kiwi, Circle of Moms, and hundreds of sites and blogs nationwide. Marie-Claire can be reached at contactmarieclaire@gmail.com.

Sep 06 2016

Gooze, Gak, Slime & More: Recipes for fun & learning

Whipping stuff up in the kitchen is one of the fun parts of learning at home. Did you realize you can make a lot of gooey, slimy, doughy things using ingredients from the pantry? Not to mention knowing exactly what’s in the toys your kids are playing with. Let’s not forget saving a ton of money, too.

We’ve been homeschooling a long time, so our family has tested lots of recipes over the years. Some were really successful, but others were a huge waste of time. Though I tried to turn the failures into lessons, it was definitely more fun when recipes turned out right! I saved all the recipes we loved, so now I’m going to share them all with you.

Here’s a list of our family’s favorite recipes for sticky, icky, moldable, mashable concoctions. These recipes have all been tested in my kitchen, so I know all of them actually work. With a few exceptions, you’ll probably have most of these ingredients on hand already, plus they’re mostly non-toxic, too (but please check before giving them to your kids).

DIY recipes for play dough, colored rice, scented sand, and more:

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Recipes for Fun & Learning

Cloud Dough

This dough is white and powdery, yet smooth and glossy too. It can be molded into balls and other shapes using your hands. You can also use small containers or plastic molds to make fun shapes.

In a large bowl, mix together:

4-6 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup olive oil (optional: use scented or unscented baby oil instead)
Store in airtight container. Lasts up to several months.

Snow Dough

This resembles artificial snow. It’s fun to play with, plus it can be used to create snow scenes for winter crafts.

In a bowl, mix together:

4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup olive oil
Store in an airtight container. Lasts up to several months.

Sparkly Cloud Dough or Sparkly Snow Dough

Follow base recipes above, but add a generous amount of your favorite color glitter. Use up to an entire container of glitter per recipe.

Watercolor Paints

Fill several small glass jars (with lids) with about 1″ of water, then set aside (wide mouth jars work best for this). Locate old or dried markers your kids no longer use. Uncover the markers (discard tops) and sort them according to color (blues, reds, greens, etc.) Aim for at least 4 markers per color group. Insert markers into jars by color group, tip down, so that marker tips are under water. Let jars sit several hours until the water in each jar turns a deep color. Remove markers and discard. Cover jars and shake lightly. Dip brushes directly into jars and use paint as desired.

Play Dough (similar to the one you can buy in the stores)

In a heavy-bottomed pot, combine:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup salt
2 teaspoons Cream of Tartar
1 cup water
2 tablespoons vegetable or other oil
Several drops food coloring
Cook over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until a ball forms. Remove from heat and turn dough onto a floured surface. Allow to cool before kneading into a soft dough. Dough can be molded and left to dry. It can also be reused again and again. Refrigerate unused portions in zip bags.

Scented Play Dough

Follow base recipe, above, adding any of the following scents and colors:

Small amounts of dry drink mixes ( like Kool Aid or Crystal Light)
Scented tea leaves
Dry spices, like ginger, cinnamon or allspice
Essential oils
Food extracts, like vanilla, mint or almond
Crunched up bits of candy, such as peppermint sticks
Use several drops of food coloring to “match” each scent.

Sparkly Snow Play Dough

This is a cross between snow dough and play dough.

In a large bowl or plastic container, mix together:

1 cup salt
2 cups flour
2 Tablespoons cream of tartar
2 cups water
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
an entire container of white glitter (silver works well, too)

Green Slime or Flubber

In one bowl, mix:

1.5 cups clear glue thinned with 2-3 tablespoons of water

In another bowl, mix:

green food coloring for slime / blue for Flubber
2 cups water
4 Tablespoons borax
Slowly drizzle borax mixture into glue bowl. Mix as you go. Once it has reached the desired consistency (a gooey, green ball) stop! Use only as much of the borax mixture needed to obtain the kind of slime you like.

Store in airtight container.

Make your own fun dough! Tons of different recipes here:

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Oobleck or Gak

In a large bowl or a shallow pan with sides (you choose — the experience is different), mix together:

1 part water
1.5 – 2 parts corn starch
Several drops food coloring (optional)
The proportions on this one are flexible. Make a little, or make a lot. Mix it as you go. Enjoy the mixing process — ask your students to mix with their hands. Is this a water or a solid? Try to pick it up!

Store in airtight container. This mixture doesn’t last very long — enjoy it while you can.

Soap Overflow

Place an unwrapped bar of Ivory soap in a dish. Heat in a microwave on full power for up to several minutes. Watch it carefully! It will begin to soften, then puff up, grow tremendously in size, and then overflow out of the bowl. Check the inside temperature before giving it to children. This mixture can be molded and played with for hours before you’ll end up throwing it away Or, you can dilute it and wash your car (dishes, pets, or floors?) with the solution!

Finger Paints

Non-toxic finger paints can be made either (1) by mixing corn syrup with powder paints or (2) by mixing corn syrup with drops of food coloring. Use muffin tins, empty yogurt cups or small jars for each color paint. Children can paint with their fingers or use brushes. This paint never really dries – it remains shiny and sticky for a long time. I recommend hanging art work rather than trying to frame it or saving it with other papers.

Salt Dough

Mix together in a large bowl:

2 cups of flour
1/2 cup salt
3/4 cup hot tap water
This dough will form a ball, which can be rolled out and cut using cookie-cutters, or molded into any shape you like. Before drying, make a hole for hanging using a plastic straw or by wiggling a toothpick and making a hole. Takes up to a week to air dry. {Tip: When making Christmas ornaments or other flat cut-outs, flip the dough over each day so it stays flat and won’t curl up as it dries.}

Cinnamon Dough

Mix together with hands:

1 cup ground cinnamon
1 cup applesauce
1/4 white school glue
This mixture will form a slightly sticky, clay-like dough. It can be molded by hand. It can also be rolled out, then kids can use cookie cutters to make ornaments or other hanging decorations. Try using plastic flatware for cutting and creating special effects. Use a straw to make a hole before the ornaments dry. (See tip about drying under “Salt Dough”.)

This dough can also be made with just cinnamon and glue, or with just cinnamon and applesauce. Experiment to see which one you like best.

Colored Sand

In a zip bag, mix 1/2 cup salt and several drops of food coloring. Shake the bag until completely mixed. Spread on wax paper or parchment paper to dry. Ordinary table salt versus coarse salt yields different effects — figure out which one you like best!

Foamy Lava

In a small bowl, mix 2 Tablespoons warm water and 1 teaspoon active dry yeast.

In a clean, empty water bottle or soda bottle, mix 1/2 cup 6% hydrogen peroxide (found on Amazon), several drops food coloring, and a squirt of liquid dish soap.

Place water bottle outside or in a plastic basin to catch spills. Using a funnel, slowly pour yeast mixture into soda bottle and be amazed!

Home Made Sand or Coffee Sand

In a large container, mix together:

4 cups dried, used, coffee grounds
2 cups cornmeal
1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
Store in airtight container or zip bags.

Colored Rice

Pour plain, uncooked, white rice into a large bowl. While stirring, use liquid watercolor paints to color it to desired hue. Stir until dry, even letting it sit out on a cookie sheet, and coming back to stir it now and then until completely dry. Place in sensory tubs or containers for playing, scooping and pouring.

Muffin Tin Crayons

Gather pieces of broken crayons, or break apart the colors your children don’t like any more. Remove papers from the crayons and arrange broken pieces into muffin tins. Heat in 350 degree oven for about 8-10 minutes, or until all crayons melt. Once cooled, pop them out for new, round crayons to play with.

Do you know another fun recipe like this? Post it as a COMMENT, and let’s keep this list growing!

Make your own slime, gak or gooze…recipes here!

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Dr. Marie-Claire Moreau is a college professor who traded in her tenure to become a homeschool mom 20+ years ago. A homeschooling pioneer and the founder of many groups and organizations, she works to advance home education, and is an outspoken supporter of education reform coast to coast. Her book, Suddenly Homeschooling: A Quick Start Guide to Legally Homeschool in Two Weeks, is industry-acclaimed as it illustrates how homeschooling can rescue children and families from the public school system, and how anyone can begin homeschooling within a limited time-frame, with no teaching background whatsoever. A writer, a homeschool leader, and a women’s life coach, Marie-Claire mentors in a variety of areas that impact health, education and lifestyle. A conference speaker, she has appeared at FPEA, H.E.R.I., Home Education Council of America, The Luminous Mind, Vintage Homeschool Moms, iHomeschool Network, and many other events. Her articles have appeared in and on Holistic Parenting, CONNECT,Homefires, Homemaking Cottage, Kiwi, Circle of Moms, and hundreds of sites and blogs nationwide. Marie-Claire can be reached at contactmarieclaire@gmail.com.